Geoarchaeological challenges in the Cyclades continental shelf (Aegean Sea)

A dwarf elephant and a rock mouse on Naxos (Cyclades, Greece) with a revision of the palaeozoogeography of the Cycladic Islands (Greece) during the Pleistocene

“…In between, sea level was (much) higher and the emerged area (much) smaller. The breaking up of the single island into the present numerous islands started around the onset of the Holocene (ca 12 kyrs BP; Kapsimalis et al, 2009). The model of Lykousis (2009) is in conflict with the view that the seaways between Euboea-Andros and Kea-Sounion were already open during the early Pleistocene (Anastasakis et al, 2006), resulting in a significantly more insular condition of the Cycladic Plateau throughout the Pleistocene.…”

“…So for our purposes sea-level changes are the only relevant factor in assessing its palaeogeography, at least as far as the Late Pleistocene is concerned. The maximal depth of the Cyclades Plateau is less than 250 m. During periods of low sea level substantial parts of the now submerged Plateau were exposed forming clusters of larger islands or, at periods of more extensive sealevel drop, a single mega-island (Lambeck, 1996;Kapsimalis et al, 2009;Lykousis, 2009) of about 10,000 km 2 (Kapsimalis et al, 2009). Lykousis (2009) suggests that during the Middle Pleistocene, larger areas were exposed subaerial, and, the Cyclades Plateau was connected to the mainland of Eurasia during major glaciations.…”

“…During periods of low sea level of the Pleistocene substantial parts of the now submerged Cycladic Plateau were exposed forming clusters of larger islands or, at periods of extensive sea-level drop, a single mega-island (Lambeck, 1996;Kapsimalis et al, 2009;Lykousis, 2009; see Sections 6.2 and 6.3 for detailed information on the palaeogeography) (Fig. 1).…”

“…The numerous outcropping islands on the plateau today are the result of its complex geomorphology (Kapsimalis et al, 2009). The Cyclades Plateau was a practically aseismic region during the Late Pleistocene and still is today (Papazachos, 1990).…”

The contribution of pattern recognition techniques in geomorphology and geology: the case study of Tinos Island (Cyclades, Aegean, Greece)

“…Offshore sedimentological studies (Anagnostou, Sioulas, Karageorgis, Pavlakis, & Alexandri, 1993;Karageorgis, Anagnostou, Sioulas, Chronis, & Papathanassiou, 1998;Lykousis, 2001 ;Lykousis, Anagnostou, Pavlakis, Rousakis, & Alexandri, 1995), based on side-scan sonar images and high-resolution acoustic profiles, indicated the presence of sandy sediments arranged in the form (thickness 6 m) of sand dunes, ribbons and ripples. Kapsimalis et al (2009) used acoustic, bathymetric and archaeological data to study the Quaternary stratigraphy and internal structure of the Cycladic shelf aiming to provide information for the archaeological potential of this area. They concluded that submergence and emergence due to the Quaternary sea level changes were the driving mechanisms causing seabed erosion by sub-aerial conditions or paleo-surface burial by thick deltaic/coastal sequences.…”